"Your Highness!" The handmaid was calling to Annabel.
Anna groaned and opened her eyes slightly. It was still dark outside. Why was Helga calling to her at this hour? A pair of hands shook her shoulders. Anna sat up.
"I'm awake Helga," she sighed. "What do you need?"
"Princess! The battle is upon us! We must get you and Princess Trish to safety."
Oh Gods...
Anna shot up out of her bed. She located her silk night robe and threw it on. The halls were chaos; solders running to the entrance of the castle in a last attempt of survival, servants' helping one another out of the various rooms in the castle, and Anna's father was stalking through the calls calling out commands. There was a pang in her heart. The people of Tisgopa would die with honor today.
Helga was now being tugged away by her husband, another servant in the castle.
"Stay safe, your Highness." And then they were both gone, lost in the sea of people. Forever.
Anna wiped a stray tear from her eye and ran through the halls. People moved out of her way in respect. That made it easier to get to her younger sister's bed chambers. Anna stormed into Trish's rooms, "Trish!" She called her name several times before a tiny whimper caught her attention.
"Trish," Anna's voice was more quiet and hesitant now. "I-is that you?"
"Annabel?"
"Trish!" Anna raced across the room to where her younger sister was. "Are you harmed?" She was frantically checking her body for signs of damage.
"I'm quite alright. Where's father?"
There was that pang again, this time it was a pang of doom. The fact that her kingdom and her father were both doomed. She looked at Trish. Yes, they were doomed also. She hadn't heard much of what her father was commanding, but Anna had the feeling that it was probably to evacuate the castle through one of the underground tunnels. But with a mass evacuation, two princesses wouldn't get out unnoticed. They would have to hide, but where?
"Trish, get on your bed robe and slippers. Hurry!"